This is the story of the public sale that nearly came to pass while the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson, was at the end of his financial rope.

Chronicling a time when Michael Jackson's prized belongings, from his iconic stage wardrobe to private collections of invaluable artwork, were prepped for auction in order to save him from what looked like certain bankruptcy, this program asks one of the age-old questions of art, How does one price the priceless?

We'll explore the root cause for the auction, how it was put together, and how and why it was ultimately stopped.

When Jackson was alive, he was dead broke. Juggling massive debts while reveling in the lavish lifestyle of a pop sultan, he frustrated his accountants and creditors....

The estate has paid off 40% of Jackson's $500 million in debts, according to the Wall Street Journal, which reports that his mother's home in Encino, Calif., was set to enter foreclosure the day the singer died. A remaining $300 million loan, backed by Jackson's 50% share of Sony/ATV, must be paid or refinanced by year's end.

Because Steinbrenner died in a year when there is no federal estate tax, he potentially saved his heirs a 55% estate tax on his assets — or a tax bill of about $600 million. The 55% tax takes effect on January 1, 2011. If Steinbrenner had died in 2009 when the estate tax rate was 45%, his estate tax bill might have been nearer $500 million.

Two interstellar agents try to stop an alien disguised as a lingerie model from destroying the world.

The Wiz (1978)

Fri 6/25 7:00 PM 371 CTRC (Sat) 3 hours G

Dorothy eases on down the road to see the Wiz with Tinman, Scarecrow and Cowardly Lion.
Pawn Stars

Next episode: Deals From Hell

Mon 6/28 7:00 PM 120 HSTRYHD (Sat) 30 minutes TV-PG

The Pawn Stars meet a man hoping to sell a several hundred-year old edition of Dante's Inferno; Rick is presented with an antique serpent shaped sword from the Philippines; Corey has a chance to purchase photo rights for Michael Jackson.

Gone Too Soon (2010)

Fri 6/25 8:00 PM 117 TVGN (Sat) 2 hours NR

Filmmaker Ian Halperin examines the life and final days of pop superstar Michael Jackson.

Famous Crime Scene

Next episode: Michael Jackson

Fri 6/25 10:30 AM 162 VH1 (Sat) 30 minutes TV-14

LAPD detectives investigate the sudden, shocking death of Michael Jackson.
Michael Jackson: Life of a Superstar

Fri 6/25 12:00 PM 29 BET (Cbl) 1 hour TV-PG

Jackson's musical career from the beginning of his solo career, to his collaboration with Quincy Jones.

There is simply too much DNA evidence here. Now if he had disappeared in the sea with no trace of his remains - that might've worked....

What if Michael had noticed something interesting while in Bahrain or in travel around that time and provided useful evidence and needed to get away and join the witness protection program?

I can't see someone like that being agreeable to the witness protection program's way of doing things. Plus, if he was going that route, it would have been him quietly disappearing, which isn't what happened here.

Q. When a celebrity dies, like Michael Jackson say, you and other medical people in the media get called on to break down what happened without necessarily having firsthand information. Does that make you uncomfortable?

A. I was out of the country when he died so I actually haven’t done any media on Michael Jackson’s death. But a loss like his is one you have to put in context on a much broader scale. What can we learn from it? If we do talk about Michael Jackson I want to talk about him in the context of the pain he felt in his life that many of us feel in our lives, and why abusing medication to numb ourselves is a very understandable human response to the pain we feel.